J. Jenkins - shooter extrordinaire

[DJlaysitup]

OK here we go:

Let me consolidate the "PROS" of this article - He's a helluva shooter!!!

CONS: You always have to be concerned about prospects that you have to affix the ‘if used properly’ label to. Jenkins is not expected to excel if he’s forced into an uptempo offense - he’s going to lock up and disappear. He’s also not very athletic and isn’t as big as most teams would like which are huge deductions. He’s not going to be a solid starter in the NBA and at best he’s going to be a role player who can hit shots if open. His defense against larger shooting guards will likely be lacking due to his size.

Edited June 29, 2012 by DJlaysitup

[thecampster]

Tidbits of information on Jenkins - Scored 43.2 ppg his senior year of high school.Comparison - a muscular Jamal Crawford.Elite step back jumper.Excellent jab step, stop step, body controlNeeds to work on - passing, defensive positioning.

you should know compared to JJ's last year in college.PPG - 19.9 (JJ - 14.2)PPFGA - 1.45 (JJ - 1.27)FG% - 47.4 (JJ - 46.8)3FG% - 43.9 (JJ - 44.3)2FG% - 54..2 (JJ - 47.6%)FT% - 83.7% (JJ - 74.7%)FT/FGA - .334 (JJ - .263)RPG - 2.9 (JJ- 6.4)APG - 1.2 (JJ - 2.6)Going on pure stats...Jenkins was a better scorer than JJ based on a superior outside shot and better use of his body in getting to the rim. He drew more fouls and shot a higher percentage on 2's (finished drives).He is not the athlete JJ is and is between 3-5 inches shorter depending on what site you look, but is built similar being only 14 lighter than JJ was when he came out.This guy is basically a Jamal/JJ hybrid.

[DJlaysitup]

Thanks campster...that was impressive...he didn't miss a single shot !Let's think...how could an NBA professional defender stop him from doing that "elite step back jumper"??? It would almost be impossible to stop.Unless you bodied up on him with a more physical guy and forced him to shoot under pressure...maybe with a defender who is a bit taller and more athletic. Maybe even a guy who could block the shot by jumping high and a little bit forward. The defender could keep on him all the time and only relax a bit as he cut across the middle because he knew he had a center to block the driving shot. Yep...that could work.

[thecampster]

Thanks campster...that was impressive...he didn't miss a single shot !Let's think...how could an NBA professional defender stop him from doing that "elite step back jumper"??? It would almost be impossible to stop.Unless you bodied up on him with a more physical guy and forced him to shoot under pressure...maybe with a defender who is a bit taller and more athletic. Maybe even a guy who could block the shot by jumping high and a little bit forward. The defender could keep on him all the time and only relax a bit as he cut across the middle because he knew he had a center to block the driving shot. Yep...that could work.

Bodying him up won't work. He is very good at using his body to create space when driving. See the 55second through 1:14 on the video and about 1:50 on the video.

[EazyRoc]

I don't think his role will be to create offense here anyways.

[Nicholasp27]

He is not just a catch and shoot guy This guy was his teams #1 option and 2 time leading SEC scorer...he was game planned against and saw double teams and still got off 6 3s a game at 44%He can shoot off the dribble, he is crafty at moving without the ball, he has great body controlHis con of athleticism was lessened during predraft workouts where he surprised multiple teams with his athleticism being much better than expectedHis defense improved a ton his last year and he shouldn't be a sieve like jcraw and he has long wingspan and very quick feet

[thecampster]

People criticize his size as well. Let's compare him to a great player of the past who he compares with very wellReggie Miller vs John Jenkins last year of collegeRM JJ6'7" 6'4"185lbs 215lbsFG% 54.33Pt% 43.9ppg 22.3rpg 5.4apg 2.2Reggie wins with 2.4 ppg, 4 rpg. Reggie was the 11th player taken his year. Jenkins was 23. We would be lucky for Jenkins to become 3/4 of a Reggie Miller. They are very comparable players.

[Jbrinson]

If he is at least the sixth man I won't be angry but if he is just sitting on the bench i will be mad af!!

[Buzzard]

Jenkins could easily be Jamal Crawford's replacement for the next 9 years. What is wrong with that? Beats the hell out of Sy whatever or selling our pick by miles.

[frosgrim]

Jenkins isn't a bad pick, but he isn't a swing for the fences. He'll be a rotation guy for a while. I agree with the philosophy of getting a group of solid, guys on the bench who you have under contract for several years. You can get them to develop into a "system". Doing so allows them to grow into a specific role.Now we need to develop that system and Larry Drew isn't the guy to do that.

[KB21]

Jenkins isn't a bad pick, but he isn't a swing for the fences. He'll be a rotation guy for a while. I agree with the philosophy of getting a group of solid, guys on the bench who you have under contract for several years. You can get them to develop into a "system". Doing so allows them to grow into a specific role.

Now we need to develop that system and Larry Drew isn't the guy to do that.

A rotation guy is exactly what the Hawks needed to get here. With only 6 players under contract, they had to get someone that could contribute and be a rotational player now. I think the Hawks may have gotten two of those in this draft. Swinging for the fences is nice, but players that swing for the fences strike out a lot. The Hawks, with their salary cap and roster situation, could not afford to strike out with this pick.

Everyone is up in arms over not taking Perry Jones III, but what I wonder is this. This is the same fan base that criticizes Marvin Williams to no end, yet they wanted Perry Jones? Perry may turn out to be a good player, but he has the same issue that Marvin has. He's not aggressive, and he doesn't have a take charge mentality. His knee got red flagged, and if you look at his metrics, he's not that impressive of a player at this point. IMO, OKC is in a much better position to take a chance on a guy like this than the Hawks are. I doubt Perry Jones plays much over the next year with OKC. They can sit him back and let him stew in the pot a little to ripen him up.

With the Hawks, if he can't contribute now, it's a wasted pick.

John Jenkins can contribute now. He's got an elite NBA skill in his shooting ability. The guy had a 65% TS% with 85% of his offense coming off jump shots.

Take a look at these numbers:

Synergy stats of note: Offense: Spot-ups: 1.319 points per possession (93rd percentile), Off-screens: 1.07 ppp (73^rd percentile), Transition: 1.385 ppp (90^th percentile), Pick-and-roll ball handler: 1.025 ppp (90^th percentile), Hand-offs: 1.0 ppp (68^th percentile), Isolations: 1.065 ppp (92^nd percentile)

Seriously, the guy has no weakness as a shooter. He scores efficiently on spot up jumpers, coming off screens and hand offs, in transition, as the P-and-R ball handler, and even in isolation. His numbers do not match the scouting report some have on him, but that's probably because scouting reports tend to only look at the appearance of the player. Vanderbilt doesn't run an up tempo haphazard style of offense like Kentucky. They run a very disciplined, systematic offense that has a lot of double screens and back door cuts. As a result, John probably didn't look as athletic as he showed in workouts.

[frosgrim]

A rotation guy is exactly what the Hawks needed to get here. With only 6 players under contract, they had to get someone that could contribute and be a rotational player now. I think the Hawks may have gotten two of those in this draft. Swinging for the fences is nice, but players that swing for the fences strike out a lot. The Hawks, with their salary cap and roster situation, could not afford to strike out with this pick.

I wasn't necessarily arguing for a high risk, high reward pick. I was stating that Jenkins is a safe pick. Every organization needs those, as you point out, esp the Hawks right now.

I agree with your summation of PJ3. Too high a risk for the Hawks. I actually like the Scott pick. If he gives 10 minutes a night this upcoming season that is a win. The thing I really like about Scott is he's a rugged guy who likes to play around the basket. The Hawks top players seem to be allergic to the paint. Getting bangers is what this team needs.

[coachx]

I had a man crush on 2 Vandy guys and of course we draft the other one.

The Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson comparisons are off. Jenkins does not have the all around game as them. Both of those guys played some PG in college and were far more advanced passers and ball handlers then is Jenkins. Jenikins is also not a iso guy. He can create his own shot on the perimeter but if he can't do it in 3 or 4 dribbles he is passing the ball off.......we know JJ and Crawford will dribble the shot clock away.

His atheltic ability tested out much better then it showed in games. His 36.5'' vertical shocked me as well as his 11'2'' max reach. I never saw Jenkins dunk but its obvious that he can with ease. Meanwhile D. Lamb tested out less atheltic........but he appeared more atheltic in games. D. Lamb also has better handles and passing ability then Jenkins. I have D. Lamb rated a tick higher then Jenkins due to his versitility but I hope that I am wrong b/c I of course want the Hawks to have the better player.

From a skillset and body type standpoint the best case scenrio is Hersey Hawkins or Jeff Hornaceck type of SGs who makes a living scoring off the ball................he is definately better then a JJ Redick due to being more atheltic then Redick.

Hawks got the best shooter in the draft................he should pair well next to Teague and JJ. Hopefully he is ready to contribute with that limitless range.

Edited June 29, 2012 by coachx

[coachx]

They run a very disciplined, systematic offense that has a lot of double screens and back door cuts. As a result, John probably didn't look as athletic as he showed in workouts.

That is true but it never stopped Jeff Taylor from looking like a great athlete for Vanderbilt. There is some merit in what you say but, to me, its still a mystery why Jenkin's atheltic ability didn't pop out more in games.

[KB21]

That is true but it never stopped Jeff Taylor from looking like a great athlete for Vanderbilt. There is some merit in what you say but, to me, its still a mystery why Jenkin's atheltic ability didn't pop out more in games.

Even with Jeff Taylor, the scouting reports say he is a great athlete but that he never really stood out to them.

[vext]

I think we picked Jenkins to be the Hawks' Daniel Gibson. Remember when Cleveland got Gibson and all he would do is nail spot up jumpers. How many times have you seen our guys receive a pass, have plenty of space/time for a jumper, and then just swing the ball. This guy isn't going to swing the ball. If he can be the first or second pass out of JJ's double team and if he can knock down that shot like clockwork then he will be a great pick. The fact that he has that jab and up-fake will be huge. Players will key in on his shooting pretty quickly and will start jumping on that fake which will lead to an even more open shot. Once they get use to that he will be able to incorporate a quick jab to freeze them and keep them off-balance while he shoots. If, and this is a big if, if Larry Drew uses him right he could be an impact player off the bench.

[Jbrinson]

I think we picked Jenkins to be the Hawks' Daniel Gibson. Remember when Cleveland got Gibson and all he would do is nail spot up jumpers. How many times have you seen our guys receive a pass, have plenty of space/time for a jumper, and then just swing the ball. This guy isn't going to swing the ball. If he can be the first or second pass out of JJ's double team and if he can knock down that shot like clockwork then he will be a great pick. The fact that he has that jab and up-fake will be huge. Players will key in on his shooting pretty quickly and will start jumping on that fake which will lead to an even more open shot. Once they get use to that he will be able to incorporate a quick jab to freeze them and keep them off-balance while he shoots. If, and this is a big if, if Larry Drew uses him right he could be an impact player off the bench.

I hope he can make the All Rookie team and play in the risings stars game in the All Star Game. Maybe be in the 3 pt contest.

[Joker]

It's a lot easier to be Gibson next to Lebron than most players in the NBA. I don't really love the fit for Jenkins in Atlanta. Scott, I am more neutral to that.

[thecampster]

I said this in an earlier post and I'm going to say it again. We were held to 90 or less points 24 times last year. We lost 22 of those games. We lost 26 total for the year.Score less than 91 we are 2-22. Score 91 or more we are 38-4. These two picks were about scoring 6-10 more points in those 22 losses. We lost by 7 or less 12 times last year and missed the the top seed by 10 games. Horford healthy, more consistent scoring when Joe/Josh have off nights = the next step. We shall see.

[ATLHawks3]

Scott and Jenkins make alot of sense if we sign key free agents. They can really help out in scoring, and I hope that I can see them both get 10-15 minutes per game to contribute to this team.